Case Ref: 20 005 525 Category: Children's care services Sub Category: Child protection

• The Council will provide evidence to show the Council has carried out training for social workers and managers regarding domestic abuse as it had undertaken to do in response to Ms X’s complaint. If the Council has not carried out the training it should do so and provide evidence to show it has done so.

Case Ref: 19 000 206 Category: Housing Sub Category: Homelessness

• The Council should remind officers: that the assessment of a homelessness application should go hand in hand with the assessment, personal housing plan and prevention or relief of homelessness; of the need to make timely decisions in respect of the prevention duty and issuing of personal housing plans; to take homelessness applications where appropriate; to consider whether there is a duty to provide interim accommodation; to put in place measures to ensure that medical evidence is properly recorded and passed on; and to review its practices and procedures in light of the Ombudsman’s findings.

Case Ref: 20 002 378 Category: Housing Sub Category: Allocations

• The Council will reconsider (and alter if needed) the wording of its housing transfer policy in relation to home visits.

Case Ref: 19 016 136 Category: Environment and regulation Sub Category: Refuse and recycling

• The Council will ensure it has a written policy in place which sets out which team is responsible for dealing with complaints about bins obstructing a footpath and their enforcement strategy. The Council will also ensure it publishes this policy on its website.

Case Ref: 19 011 750 Category: Education Sub Category: Special educational needs

• For the Council to minimise delays in finding appropriate places for children not attending the named school in their EHCP for reasons of illness, exclusion or otherwise. It says it has increased the number of places available but it is asked to keep this under review and to tell me how it will do so within three months of my decision.
• The Council is asked to ensure that children in alternative provision can benefit from as much education as possible. The Council says it considers this on a monthly basis. It is asked to provide evidence of this within three months of the date of my decision.
• The Council is asked how it will ensure it keeps to statutory timescales for Education, Health and Care Plans. It says it has employed more staff, which it expects will ensure it is able to do this going forward. It is asked to provide evidence of its policy and procedures within three months of the date of my decision.
• The Council is asked how it will record LGSCO's requests for investigations and ensure a timely progression. It says it logs and tracks complaints but this does not ensure timely progression. It is asked to do this within six months of the date of my decision.

Case Ref: 19 011 268 Category: Adult care services Sub Category: Direct payments

• The Council has agreed to remind its adult social care complaints team that complaints that do not meet the statutory Adult Social Care criteria may still be valid corporate complaints.